“Perfection,” He smiled, letting me see those fangs as he poked his straw in the first of his blood pouches. “What’s it like living with such a short life span?”
Wow, he was getting pretty existential to start. The vitality of humans wasn’t what I had been expecting Kroven to ask me about first thing. I smiled wide.
“I can’t speak for other humans, but for me, I don’t really think about it too much. I try my best to always live in the now, so I have as little regrets as possible.”
“Hmm, intriguing.” Kroven said, slurping his pouch while he mulled over my answer. “You’re turn, Sebastian.”
Ugh, the way he said my full name. He really needed to cut that out. And if I wasn’t already fighting the growing hardness beneath the chart in my hands, I would have chastised him for not using my preferred name. But that was a battle to engage over at another time.
“What species are you?” When I thought about how ignorant I sounded, I clarified. “I mean, what’s the name of your kind? I’dnever met a blood-dependent beings until I met you the other day, and I’m just curious what makes you…you.”
Kroven looked very pleased, smiling again behind his pouch. “My kind are called sangamar.”Song-uh-mar. Even his species name sounded interesting. “We are born with the need to consume blood every day or our hearts stop beating. And feasting on blood is the only thing that gives us our sight.”
“How long can you see for after you drink?”
“A few hours, if we drink a decent amount.” He finished the first pouch and placed it on the tray before prepping the second one. “This will enable me to see through the rest of the evening.”
“And is there a reason you have to consume blood to stay alive? Like a curse or something?”
That hearty laugh fell out of him at that and I smiled feebly. “Is that what humans think?”
“I don’t know,” I chuckled. “People think your kind sound a lot like vampires, which is—”
“I know what vampires are, Sebastian.”
He sounded cold in that response and I hoped I hadn’t offended him. “I’m sorry, I—”
“You said nothing wrong, human.” He added a smile and I tried to take that as a sign that everything was okay. Even if there was a shift in energy hanging between us. “I just don’t appreciate the comparison. To be honest with you, I think humans have encountered many creatures before our inaugural announcement and then used said encounters to indulge things for the sake of entertainment.”
Most Orbs were different versions of what movies and other media told us went bump in the night. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc. They all seemed to have an origin with an Orb as the inspiration, but the idea that a human had discovered an Orb that long ago and didn’t tell anyone baffled me. Of course it could still be true. There had to be somewhere for the monstermovie craze of early Hollywood to have originated. Maybe that’s where it all had stemmed from.
“So,” I hope what I wanted to ask him next wasn’t too personal. “What made you come here?” When his brow furrowed, I clarified with, “I mean,here. Why specifically Piper, Virginia?”
He seemed to teeter with how to answer this question, alternating between looking at me and continuing to sip on his pouch as he watched the contents empty from the see-through plastic. Once he was finished with the second pouch, he set it down with the other discarded one and I was able to look into those striking red eyes as they swirled to life.
“As for why here in Piper, it’s too long a story for me to tell here. But in general, I suppose the adventurous side of me wanted to know what it was like.” Kroven stated. “The places my kind had to linger before we came out of the shadows was a lot of things, but kind was not one of them. I understand that some beings made trouble for you humans at the start, but this?” He gestured to the room. “A blood center that not only helps sangamar with their cravings but encourages them to visit instead of enacting violence on other creatures? I suppose I enjoy the kindness I’ve found here.”
My heart lurched. The fact that Kroven was such an outsider but was choosing to see the kindness of humanity rather than the still thriving hatred and anti-Orb organizations that had risen over the years felt good to hear. Kroven really was an optimistic guy.
I flushed with the thought of time. We’d probably been talking long enough that I could get in trouble. Slowly, I rose from the couch. Kroven followed my action with ease.
“I’ve kept you too long, Sebastian.” He nodded. “I apologize.”
“No, it’s all good.” I gathered the tray from the table and eyed him sternly. “But please, call me Bas.”
“If you insist.” Kroven grinned.
“I do.” I chuckled. “If you want, I can schedule your next appointment and put in on my schedule instead of you requesting me every time. I mean, assuming you’d prefer me to handle your appointments.” I didn’t want him to think that he had to ask for me, but I really enjoyed being able to talk to him. It suddenly struck me that he hadn’t been able to ask me anything else, and selfishness poured through me. “I just realized you didn’t get to ask me more than your first question. I kept asking about you. I’m sorry. Ask me whatever you want before I go.”
Kroven rolled his freshly red eyes. “Are all humans this neurotic?” When I opened my mouth to answer honestly, he waved me off and started laughing lightly. “That was rhetorical.”
“Sorry.” I could feel the heat in my cheeks and I scratched my face to hide it as I calmed myself from blushing even more. “You can still ask me something, then I’ll go.”
“Okay.” Kroven suddenly stood, stepping forward and then locking his eyes with an intensity that made my stomach lurch forward. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No.” I answered automatically and I knew it was true. There was nothing terrifying about Kroven in my eyes. He was just…a guy. I mean, he was a creature that wasn’t human, but he was sweet. He thought kindly of humans. He appreciated what they were doing with the blood centers for his kind, for the sangamar. How could I be afraid of someone who was so themself?
He tilted his head, really examining me, making me feel like he was looking through me to see if I was lying or not. When he straightened his posture, he smiled. “I suppose there are some of my kind who would think me less than for liking that answer.”
